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King's Hawaiian Mini Hot Dogs with Pineapple Glaze by Cleo Coyle

Bring smiles to your summer cookout or holiday party with our cute mini hot dog recipe. Pair these babies with sliders for a main course or serve them as whimsical appetizers. (They’re the perfect size for children’s parties, too.)

Any dinner roll can be used for this recipe, though we especially love the sweet, soft rolls that King’s Hawaiian makes. Simply slice the top of the roll to mimic a mini hot dog bun. Cut your hot dogs into thirds and sauté in our own pineapple-based glaze...

To create the delicious pineapple-based glaze for this recipe, my husband and I adapted one of our favorite recipes from our 15th Coffeehouse Mystery Dead to the Last Drop. That version is spiked with bourbon and cuts the hot dogs into bites small enough to spear with a pretzel stick. To get that recipe, click here or on the Bourbon Hot Dog Bites photo below...

Note: Regular “bun size” hot dogs should be about 6-inches in length. Packages range in weight. Look for 14 to 16 ounce packages. Either weight will work with this recipe, as long as you have 8 hot dogs.

Directions:

Step 1 – Cut your 6-inch hot dogs into thirds. You should end up with 24 mini dogs of roughly 2-inches each. Set these aside.

Step 2 – The ideal pan for this recipe is a 10-inch, non-stick skillet or sauté pan. Over medium heat, stir together the ketchup, pineapple juice, and dry mustard. Bring to a boil and stir in the dark brown sugar.

Turn down the heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then…Step 3 - Add your 24 hot dog pieces. Slowly stir and turn the dogs to coat them completely in the liquid.

Continue simmering and occasionally stirring to prevent scorching of the sugar in the glaze. After about 12 to 15 minutes, the mini dogs will plump up and the liquid will thicken into a shiny, sweet-and-tangy glaze. If the mixture is still loose after 15 minutes, simply turn up the heat and continue cooking it down and stirring until it does thicken and coat the mini dogs (as you see in my photo below). The final glaze should be the consistency of a thick barbecue sauce...

Step 4 – When ready to serve, prepare the dinner rolls. Place a slice in the top half of each roll. (Quick tip: rolls are often slightly more rectangular than square. Put the slice down the long half of the rectangle to better mimic a hot dog bun.)

Then nestle each Hawaiian-glazed mini dog into its own little dinner roll bun and spoon on extra glaze if you like. We use the King’s Hawaiian “original” rolls for this recipe, but you can use any roll. Serve warm...